Keeping Balance
by silversprinklez10
Summary: Since the beginning of time, Notch and Herobrine were equal in power. But when one of the two starts to claim more power than the other and disrupts the mutual balance, only Jordan can stop him. But Jordan can't stop him without his friends finding out who he really is. Can Jordan do it? Prequel is now prologue. Rated because of graphic violence. A Captain Sparklez fanfic thingy.
1. Prologue

**_I do not own any you tubers or myths that may appear in this story. I also do not own Minecraft_**

I ride on a Ghast's back as I travel to my father's castle. My mom is waiting to give me a surprise. Mom is always the nice one. It is because of her that I can tolerate my father. We both don't like him, but we have to be with him because he is the only one who can protect me. If others found out who my father was, I would be instantly killed. His mean ways aren't my style, but he expects me to be like him when I am older. I might do it if it is the only way I can survive./p

The Ghast drops me off in the living room of my father's castle. I see my mom, and run up to her. We embrace. She means so much to me, I'm not sure if I can live without her. It is not easy dealing with my father, so she's lucky to be alive. Over the years, I've been impressed with how she manages taking care of me and dealing with my father.

I walk up to my mom. "You said you have a surprise for me, mama," I said. "What is it?"

"Patience," my mom says. "Follow me, my captain. You'll see."

I follow my mom into another room. There, I see a pair of sunglasses on a table. My mom walks over to the sunglasses and gives them to me. I put them on, and then look in a mirror. While wearing the sunglasses, my eyes look like they have pupils instead of being the pure white they really are. There is blue in the center of the white, and black in the center of the blue. I remove the sunglasses, and my eyes return to being all white. I put the sunglasses in my pocket.

"What are these for?" I ask my mom. "Why do the glasses disguise my eyes?"

"If any human saw you, they would assume you were being possessed by your father," my mom says. "That is, if they saw your eyes were all white. If ever a time arises that you must escape from your father, the glasses will serve as a disguise. Now listen. Tonight is your chance to escape. When I tell you to go into the closet, go in and tap the mirror three times. Doing this will teleport you to a Nether Portal. Go through the portal with your glasses on and escape. Make yourself a new identity. Call yourself Jordan. Buy new clothes so it will be harder for your father to track you. Never answer to the name Captain Sparklez. Do you understand?"

"But if I do that," I say. "You will—"

The door opens, and my father is standing there. Time for the plan to go into action. I have no other choice. I have to believe in my mom.

"My minions tell me you are giving Captain Sparklez a gift," my father says. "May I see what it is?"  
"I was just about to give it to him, Herobrine," my mother says sweetly. "Here you go, son."

She hands me an outfit like my father's, except with the colors my father thinks I should wear, orange and black. I know she is doing this to protect me, so I take the clothing.

"Doesn't it make you look a bit more frightening?" my mom asks. "Here, try them on. Don't change out here, go in the closet."

I take the clothes and walk into the closet. I put on my glasses and tap on the mirror three times. True to my mother's word, I am teleported to a Nether Portal. Making sure my glasses are still on, I walk through the portal. I feel dizzy, but I know that is because of the portal. As I go through, I try not to imagine what will happen to mom. She was willing to sacrifice her life so I would have a better life. That was more than what I could do for her. I will never forget mom, and I will call myself Jordan, like she told me to.

I walk into the real world, and remember what my mom told me about buying clothes. I wander to the nearest clothes shop and walk in. I look around for a long time until I find something I like that is my size. I pay for it and immediately put the clothes on. Now it is time for me to find shelter.

Out of nowhere, emptiness fills my heart. I focus on that emptiness and figure out the cause. Tears fill my eyes, but I hold them back. I will not cry in public. But I feel I have great reason to. Mom has been killed by Herobrine. I emfeel/em it. Now, I am truly alone in this world. Soon, Herobrine will be after me. I cannot let Herobrine reach me. I will honor my mom's death and not let it go to waste.

I come across a home for sale. It is next to a huge tree and the house looks big from the outside. There is not much to the house, but I have a good feeling about it. It is almost like I am destined to buy the house. I can modify more it to my liking later, and that won't be hard at all. I like the way it looks. I want that house. I walk up to the house owner and buy the house.

I look around and see that a lot of work needs to be done for this home to be comfortable. It will be perfect later, but for now, all I need in this house is a bed to set my spawn point. If I die, I don't want to respawn in the Nether. That would mess everything up. If I did that, my mom's death would be in vain. I don't want that to happen. If it did, I would never forgive myself. Tears fill my eyes again, but this time, I let them fall. Nobody's watching, so I don't care. I let the tears fall silently.

As soon as I recover, I walk out to find some sheep. Good thing it is still daytime outside. If it was night, mobs might attack me, or worse, find out who I am and take me to my father. No, I must call him Herobrine. I must change my thoughts. No more "my father". He is now Herobrine. He is not worthy of the title "father". My mom, however, is worthy of the title "mom". She cared for me, not Herobrine. She is the one I love, not Herobrine.

I find lots of sheep, and kill them until I have three pieces of wool. I punch a tree and gather its wood so I can make things such as a crafting table, a chest, a bed, and other necessities for survival. I go back to my house and place down a crafting table I just made. I place it down and using it, I craft a chest and a bed. I go to a room and place down the bed. The sun is now starting to set. As soon as it turns night, I sleep in the bed.

In the morning, I walk outside and find a slime near the huge tree. I walk over to it and start to pet it. The slime, realizing I am a friend, rubs against me and accepts my kindness towards it.

"We're going to have to give you a name, aren't we," I say.

The slime jumps up and down.

"Whoa, buddy," I say. "Do you like the name Jerry? It kind of suits you."

The slime jumped up and down, accepting the name.

_**Some of you(if you've been around long enough) may be thinking, "Hey, Sprinklez, this is the story 'Dark Secrets.' Why are you pasting it in front of 'Keeping Balance?'" Well, since this is a one shot prequel to "Keeping Balance," I thought it would be more appropriate to make this the prologue of the story instead of a completely different story. So yeah, this is a good idea to me so if other people see "Keeping Balance," they won't have to go to another story to see the prologue thing. I probably should have thought of this earlier. **_


	2. Chapter 1

_**AN: I received a request to continue the story **__**Dark Secrets**__**. Since the story is finished, I decided to make a sequel to the story instead of adding a chapter to **__**Dark Secrets**__**. Please read **__**Dark Secrets**__** before this story. This is the first time attempting to publish a story with more than one chapter, so please be patient. I also won't be able to update often, so it will be a long time between chapters. I hope you enjoy this story, **__**.374**__**. **_

"Hurry up, Jordan! You're such a slowpoke!"

"I'm running as fast as I can, Ant!"

It is hard to catch up with Ant. It's been five years since I escaped from my father, yet Ant is still faster than me. Did I just say "my father"? I need to stop doing that. I can't call him that anymore. Now, I must call him Herobrine. I can never forgive him for what he has done to me. Ever. Besides, if any of my friends found out whom my father was…

"You ready for the mining trip?" Ant asks, interrupting my thoughts.

"Yeah, I'm ready," I respond. "Let's do this."

We head over to the cave and venture deep where we last left off. We know how deep to go down because of the torches. We reach our stopping point and continue down the cave. We continue mining using our method, one mines, one watches. How this works is one of us mines the vane spotted, and the other one deals with the mobs in the area. Every vane, we alternate positions. This method has always works for us.

I go to mine a huge vane of iron while Ant watches for mobs. I don't notice the low durability on my pick until it breaks. I then place down a crafting table and make another iron pick. I put the crafting table back in my inventory and begin mining again. I am almost done with the vane when I am interrupted by Ant.

"Please tell me I'm not seeing what I am seeing. Please tell me this is my imagination." Ant's voice is shaky. Ant is never like this. What's going on?

"What is so bad," I ask Ant. "You're not supposed to be afraid of anything."

"Please don't tell me I see two white eyes over there."

I freeze. No, he hasn't found me. This isn't real. Ant did _not_ say that right now. He didn't. I turn around, hoping Ant is seeing things. He isn't. I see a pair of white eyes staring at us. Why is Herobrine here? He means to capture me and return me to the Nether. I check to be sure my sunglasses are secure on my face so they don't fall off while Herobrine is here. I then remember what Ant asked me earlier.

"You aren't imagining things," I say. "I see a pair of white eyes."

Ant paled. "Herobrine, what is your purpose here?" Ant says, as bravely as he can. "What do you want?"

The voice I haven't heard in five years responds to Ant. "What is balanced is now unbalanced. I have done my part all these years. And yet, my brother forgets the importance of balance. If too carried away, he will unintentionally destroy Minecraft."

"What do you mean, he will unintentionally destroy Minecraft?" I ask, surprised at my courage to speak. "What's going on?" Even though I hate him, I am willing to listen.

"A balance of the Aether and the Nether must exist for Minecraft to survive. Same goes for the over world and the End, but that's a different story. Lately, my brother, Notch, has been limiting my power to the point where it threatens the future of Minecraft. If he keeps this up, Minecraft will no longer exist. He believes a world without me is better, but in reality, we need each other in order to survive."

"How are we supposed to know you're telling the truth?" Ant asks. "You could be tricking us."

Herobrine steps into the light where we can see him, and I know he isn't that good at acting. He can't do the proper make up for this look either. His eyes have bags under them, his skin is a sickly white, almost as white as his eyes, and he has a cane to support himself. His legs tremble underneath him, like he's about to fall. I know he always shows himself at his strongest, and if this is his strongest, he is very weak. Even if he did treat me badly, he doesn't deserve this. I look at Ant, and he looks horrified, even more so than before.

I say the words a Minecrafter should never say. "How do we stop Notch?"

Ant looks at me like I'm crazy. Well, yes, I am crazy. But that's not the point. But still, even Notch shouldn't always get what he wants. It's easy to see why Notch thinks he can get away with such an act. Everyone hates Herobrine and loves Notch. No one would protest to the end of Herobrine. But if it means the end of the world, then Herobrine should stay.

"Jordan, maybe he's drained, but that doesn't mean the world will end," Ant says to me. He then focuses his attention to Herobrine. "Prove Minecraft is ending."

Shoot. I'm acting suspicious, like I know Herobrine is telling the truth. I hope Herobrine won't suspect me. I know he's telling the truth because I've been around him long enough to know him. Ant doesn't know that.

"Minor changes will happen first," Herobrine says. "Like durability glitches and mob color changes. Look at the durability of that pick axe." He points to the pick I'm holding. Its durability is low, even though I crafted it a minute ago and only mined three pieces of iron.

"Five uses left," I say.

Ant's mouth hangs wide open. "We just made a pick before coming down here. How?"

I need to make Herobrine's point more clear. "And that one broke while I was mining the iron, so I made another one. And now this pick is low after mining a few pieces of iron."

Ant sighs in defeat. "Fine. How do we stop Notch?"

Herobrine says an answer so frightening, I wish I never asked this question before Ant did. "Only one person can stop Notch. I'm looking for him. Twenty years ago, I met a woman named Jewel. I don't remember every detail after that, but I do remember her charming me and eventually, we had a son. Jewel insisted he be named Sparklez, who is supposed to sparkle terror in you, and I couldn't refuse her. So he became known as Captain Sparklez.

"I wanted to raise him to be like me. I should've realized his feelings about the way I acted. Five years ago, he ran from home. When I figured this out, I couldn't control my anger, and I took it out on Jewel. In my grief…" Herobrine paused, took a deep breath, and continued. "When I realized what I had done, my sadness increased. I had lost my family. And now that I am losing my power, my son is the only one who can defeat him. But he ran away, so I don't know where he is. Without him, Notch can't be stopped."

No, no, no, no. That is _not _what I want to hear. Not at all. Based on the story, Herobrine misses my mom and me. Should I reveal myself? No, not with Ant here. I don't want him to know. If he finds out, I'll never be safe, knowing he knows my secret. But I know I have to save Herobrine. There is no question about it. But, I know there is going to be a catch to saving Herobrine. Two, actually. The first is I will have to go back to the Nether. But it is the second one that I am most afraid of. Nothing else can explain my disappearance.

The second catch is I will have to reveal to my friends who I am.

_**AN: Besides this story, how many stories have you read where Notch is the antagonist of the story? Answer me honestly here.**_


	3. Chapter 2

**_Disclaimer: I'm sorry I didn't include this in the first chapter, but I do not own Minecraft or any you tubers in this story. I also don't own Notch or Herobrine._**

"Cave! You have to believe us! We'll prove it to you! At least let us show our evidence! Please?"

After the encounter with Herobrine, Ant is set on finding Herobrine's son, and I can't do anything about it. I've tried to explain the difficulty of finding Herobrine's son, but Ant is set on saving the world. He can be very stubborn sometimes. So now, here we are, trying to convince our friend Dan, or Cave, to help us. After Cave joins us, Ant wants to go to Ryan (xRpMx13) and ask for his help as well. I don't want them to look out for a son of Herobrine, but they should know about the durability glitch.

"I'd like to see any evidence you can come up with for this absurdity," Cave responds. "I'd be interesting to watch."

Cave comes outside to look at Ant's evidence. I know what it is going to be. He's going to demonstrate the glitched durability to Cave. Then it will be twenty minutes of Cave checking to see if any of the mods caused the glitch… oh shoot. We didn't check that. I have to check that out now before we go any farther. It better be a glitch and not a mod.

"Um, Ant, Cave, I'll be right back," I say. "I need to check something out. I just remembered something important."

"Okay, come back here when you're finished," Ant responds. "We'll wait for you."

I run where no one can see me and use my admin powers to enter the control area for the server. I am about to go where mods are installed when I notice the control area is different. And not in a good way. The signs that usually tell you which areas are which now have random letters all over them. The number of people on the server is "recalculating", and the list of banned people is non-existent. The mods on the server are updating; even the older ones that were installed a year ago are updating.

This will gain Cave's curiosity and further motivate Ant. Now, it doesn't look like I can hide my identity any more. Just what I need. I exit the control area and go back to Cave and Ant. I'm surprised that Ant is still trying to convince Cave to make a diamond pick. Cave doesn't want to waste the diamonds, I understand that, but Ant didn't give him any? I take three diamonds from my inventory to give to Cave.

"I really don't want to waste three diamonds on this! Why is this necessary? Why are you insisting on me doi—"

"Here's three diamonds, Cave," I say, giving him the three diamonds I pulled out earlier.

"Why did I not think of doing that earlier?" Ant says. "I'm really dumb, aren't I?"

Cave laughs as he makes a diamond pick. Cave inspects the diamond pick, expecting for there to be a problem with the pick. I silently laugh to myself as I imagine Cave's reaction to the durability of the pick. Poor Cave. He'll be so confused.

"Don't just stare at the pick!" Ant says. "Use it!"

Cave digs with his hands until he reaches stone. He takes the diamond pick and mines one piece of stone. Once he sees he received cobble, he continues, not noticing how quickly the durability of the pick is going down. The pick breaks when Cave mines his first piece of iron, which isn't far down. Cave's mouth is wide open in shock. Ant and I start to laugh at Cave's confused face.

"How…?" Cave looks at us. "This better not be a mod! If it is, you're dead meat!" He stares at us, waiting for a response.

I answer for Ant because he didn't know about the condition of the control room. "I checked it out earlier. It isn't a mod. You can go see for yourself. We can all go together. You'll see we're not lying."

Ant looks relieved. We all go to the control room together after we are sure no one can enter after us. Ant and Cave freeze as they take in the sight around them. The sight of the signs and all the messed up details still take me by surprise. Both Cave's and Ant's jaws are dropped lower than I have ever seen them. Their eyes are bulging out of their sockets.

"Wha…" Cave whispers. "What is…?"

"…Going on?" Ant finishes for him. Then, Ant's eyes fill with the determination that is within Ant. "This is a side effect of the balance falling apart. Now, do you believe me, Cave? You know I wouldn't go as far as to mess up the control room. You know that. We need to restore balance and do this correctly. I'm not letting the world end! I don't care what I have to do. This world will _not_ end!"

Cave sighs. "Has he always been like this, Jordan?"

"Ever since we found out about this problem, yes," I reply. "Too motivated for his own good."

"Tell me the story again, will you, Ant and Jordan," Cave says. "I forgot the story."

We explain our encounter with Herobrine again. Cave's eyes go wide as he hears the story again, this time believing every word. By the time we are done explaining, Cave is scared, but motivated. I realize something as I look in the sky. How did all three of us miss this?

"It's already night time," I say. "Cave, can we stay at your house for the night? We should continue our adventure tomorrow, when we are all rested."

Cave and Ant look up at the sky. "Yeah, you can stay," Cave says. "I need some time to let this all sink in. I'm sure you're going to need it, too."

We all go into the house. Ant and I head upstairs to the guest bedrooms. We each pick our favorite, and get ready for the night. I go under the covers and think about the events of today and play them over and over in my mind. A few questions pop up. Is Herobrine really sorry about how he treated me? Do I have to do this? Why is Ant so set on completing this? Why does Notch want to end Herobrine for good if it means the end of Minecraft?

My father's magnified voice fills the area. "My son, if you are listening, I ask you to come to me. I will be in the place only the two of us know of." The unknown burnt down forest. It is close to here. "Meet me tonight. I just want to talk. I mean no harm. I want to talk about some issues that have popped up recently. Be there."

I know the topic he is going to discuss with me. Notch taking power. I also know one more thing. I am going, and Ant, Cave, or anyone else is going to stop me. I will talk to my father. I will save Minecraft, no matter the cost. I don't want to lose my friends. And that is why I have to go. If I go, I have a chance at keeping my friends. If I don't go, Minecraft is doomed.

**_AN: This chapter is up and written faster than expected. I'll try to get chapter 3 up next Wednesday, but no guarantees. I hope you enjoy this chapter!_**

**_-Sprinklez_**


	4. Chapter 3

_**Hello, I'm back. I said I'd try to upload by Wednesday, and Wednesday is here. Thanks to all the support on this story (and by all the support, I mean two reviews by the same person, which is more than I hoped for. Thank you, xxCelestiaMCxx!) One last thing before I present the chapter, I do not own Minecraft or any other things mentioned in my previous disclaimers. Without further ado, the story.**_

I look at my clock again. It is currently 12:08 am right now. Perfect. Cave and Ant shouldn't be up at this early in the morning. I quickly dress in the clothes my mom gave me five years ago. I also take off my sunglasses. I don't want to be anything like Jordan during my visit. I must answer to the name Captain Sparklez, and I must call Herobrine father, the two very things I needed to avoid for the past five years. I exit out of the window, to avoid the problem of Cave or Ant hearing my footsteps.

I head to the burned down forest Herobrine said to go to. I tell myself I'll be all right, but it is hard to convince myself it will be. So many things can go wrong. This could be a trap, and emmy father /emcan send me to the nether. Ant or Cave might notice my absence and suspect something. I might slip up either with Herobrine, or Cave and Ant after the trip, about my identity. I try to push those thoughts from my head, but they keep coming. I can mess up. I _will_ up.

"My son," Herobrine says, jerking me from my thoughts. "You've grown up so much. Thank you for coming. You don't know how much I've missed you."

"What do you want," I ask. I have to act clueless about the whole Notch thing, or else Herobrine will notice something is not right. I don't want him to know I'm Jordan, one of the two he talked to in the mine.

"I want to talk about some things, some more pleasant than others," Herobrine says. "First of all, I have been facing some problems only you can solve." He then proceeds to tell me the unbalance between him and Notch and why this is a problem. "This problem can be solved by you. You will need to sneak in to the Aether. However, only groups of four to five mortals can compensate for the entrance of an angel, even though you are a demigod.

"Two others have heard my story and believe what Notch is doing is wrong. I want you to send a letter to them I wrote which explains the dilemma and solution of entering the Aether undetected. They should be willing to help. Of course, we will need one or two more people, but we should leave it up to them on who they can trust to take on the trip. I would send the letter myself, but because of this issue, I need to conserve my power." He hands me a letter, which I take from him.

"I understand, father. I will make sure they receive the letter," I say. "But, I will need more information on these two people you have mentioned. I can't deliver the letter if I don't know who they are. I know you taught me how to read minds, but I can't read yours. Also, if the situation is as urgent as you say, I don't have time to read everyone's mind just to find these two people." I know where to find us, but I need to convince him I know nothing but what he told me.

"Their names are Jordan and Ant," he says. He then describes what Ant and I look like, and where the mine was.

"I will find them and deliver the letter as soon as possible," I say.

"There's one final thing I want to say to you, Captain Sparklez," my father says.

"What is that, father," I ask.

"I understand if you don't want to come back to the Nether," he says, surprising me. "I realize you must still be angry at me. I should have realized the pain I was causing you. I had never raised a child before, so I never knew how to raise them. I am not good with children. But now I see how I treated you was wrong. I can't make up for what I did to you or your mother. I understand if you want to live in the Overworld. But, can you at least visit me once in a while? In the Nether, it is often lonely, and being with your mother and you was the best moment of my life. Can you try to visit?"

I am shocked at what he has said to me. The Herobrine five years ago would never apologize to anyone, not even his own son or girlfriend. I guess you can call my mom Herobrine's girlfriend. She certainly isn't his wife.

"I'll try," I say, because if he is apologizing, he must really be sorry. Herobrine is arrogant and proud, not one to use kindness as a weapon.

"Goodbye, my son," Herobrine says. He vanishes, leaving me alone with the note.

I head back to Cave's house, and enter through the window. I change back into what Jordan would wear, with the outfit and glasses I usually wear. I decide to take a risk in how I deliver this note. I walk out of my room and sneak into Ant's room, where he is fast asleep. I know he is a heavy sleeper, so he shouldn't wake up after this. I place the note on top of him and exit the room. Better the note be a real reaction from Ant than a fake reaction from me. I walk back into my own bed and fall asleep, knowing tomorrow, I need to convince Ant and Cave to let Ryan join us, or else the party won't be big enough for us to enter undetected.

_**I hope you all enjoyed this chapter and are enjoying the story! If you want to, leave me suggestions on what you think should happen in this story, and if they fit the plot, I can add the ideas into the story. Also, I know this idea has been in lots of other stories, but if you want to ask either any of the characters in the story or me a question, feel free to in the reviews. If the question is directed towards me, you can also PM me. **_

_**-Sprinklez**_


	5. Chapter 4

_**I'm finally back! And now to answer your question Celestia...**_

_**Herobrine: NO!**_

_**Sprinklez: HEY! I'm the author here. What I say goes. And I say Celestia gets to hug you.**_

_**Herobrine: That's not fair!**_

_**Sprinklez" Oh, yes it is. He's all yours, Celestia!**_

_**Celestia: *Hugs Herobrine***_

_**Jordan: Why is a random girl hugging my father?**_

_**Ant: Wait, what? Your father?**_

_**Jordan: Well, shoot.**_

_**Cave: What did I miss?**_

_**Jordan: Nothing.**_

_**Sprinklez: On another note, I don't own any you tubers, myths, blah blah blah, whatever. You get the point. And now, without further ado, the next chapter!**_

"Jordan, WAKE UP!"

Why does Ant have to be so loud? I sigh as I climb out of bed. I'm still tired from staying up last night, but it was necessary. I tell myself to be surprised about the letter. I slap myself a couple of times to wake myself up. I then head to the kitchen to eat breakfast and "learn" about the letter. I sit at the only empty spot at the table, which is closer to Ant than Cave.

"Okay," Cave says. "Now that Jordan is here, can you _please_ me what you wanted to tell us, Ant?"

"Ant has news for us?" I ask, sounding confused.

"Yes, I do have something to show you," Ant says. He pulls out the letter I gave him and places it on the table.

"What is that?" I ask.

"It's a letter," Ant says. "From Herobrine. I found it on me this morning. I don't know how it got there."

Cave grabs the letter before I can ask what is in the letter. "Let me read this!" Cave yells. He reads the letter, first in confusion, then determination. After he is done, he hands the letter to me. "Read this."

The letter explains what Herobrine told me last night, as well as ways to be undetected in the Aether and how to help Herobrine's son, such as ways to successfully distract angels without being detected and hiding places for us. He also tells us the more mortals are in the Aether, the less powerful Notch is, so it is vital for us to stay in the Aether undetected. It will make Notch even weaker if mortals are in his palace, but Herobrine says not to risk it if that means we will be caught. I hand the letter to Ant.

"So," I say. "The letter says bring three or four people with us. I say we should bring four because the letter says the more people are in the Aether, the weaker Notch is. Having more of us in the Aether will weaken Notch more."

"I agree," Ant says. "We need to go with the plan we had before this letter, and get Ryan to go with us."_**(AN: And why does everyone suddenly agree to the plan again? I'm so good at writing...)**_

"No time to waste, then," Cave says. "Let's go to Ryan and ask for his help."

We walk out the door and head for Ryan's house. As we walk there, I can imagine how thing will go wrong. What if Notch wins? I feel like the question should be "What will happen when Notch wins?" Notch _always_ wins. Notch is the one all players look up to. He always has the most support and heroes rooting for him. If I went up to Sky Does Minecraft and asked him if Notch or Herobrine was better, he'd say Notch. All players feel the same way. The one thing I'm glad about is I convinced Ant and Cave to go with five people, including Herobrine's son. It would be bad if only three people traveled and we were caught.

I push these thoughts from my mind as the three of us approach Ryan's house. I hope we can convince Ryan to help us. He can be so odd at times, I don't even know what is happening anymore. He sometimes runs errands for Notch, making others believe he is actually Spider Man. I don't know why he wears a Spider Man costume all the time. I guess he has a thing with super heroes. I saw him wearing an Iron Man costume once when I was mining for iron with him.

Ryan randomly opened the door, not expecting for us to be there. All four of us jumped. We stared at each other for a moment.

"What are you doing outside of my house?" Ryan asks us.

As Cave and I stand there in shock at what happened, Ant answers the question for us. "We want your help on a mission we're doing."

Ryan sighs. "I thought I told Notch I'd get a break from doing his errands for him. I'm not interested. Good bye."

I quickly talk before Ryan can close the door. "This isn't a mission for Notch. If it was, we wouldn't come to you. We would go to Chim. He likes those missions more than you do."

Ryan pauses, then sighs. "Fine, come in, and we'll go more into detail inside."

We follow Ryan inside. Cave, Ant, and I take turns telling Ryan the story, starting with the caving trip with Herobrine all the way to arriving at Ryan's house. I, of course, leave out the part of me visiting Herobrine and putting the note on Ant. We show Ryan the durability glitch and the control room as evidence that out story is genuine. We also show him the letter Herobrine gave us.

"Well," Ryan says. "I'm going. But I can't dress like this, because Notch will recognize me if I do. So, stand outside, and I'll be out in a sec."

Cave, Ant, and I step outside and Ryan closes the door. Knowing him, he's going to dress up as another super hero. I don't know which one, though.

"What should we talk about while Ryan gets ready?" Ant asks.

"How are we going to get into the Aether?" Cave asks. "The letter said nothing about how we are going to get in. We got no time, no place, and no transportation. We don't want to go the usual way, because Herobrine wants us to stay in the Aether because it's a burden to Notch. How will this work?"

I hadn't thought of that. Shoot. With all my worrying with my identity, I didn't foresee this problem. Maybe Ryan has an idea. He knows the Aether better than I do. I wish I have an idea. We're relying on Herobrine's son to get us there, and since I don't know how to do it, we're screwed.

Ant fidgets. "Well..."

"Well, what?" Cave yells. "You come to get me and Ryan to help you save the world, and you have absolutely no way to get to the Aether undetected?"

Herobrine didn't exactly think this through. None of us did. This wasn't good. The mission failed before it even started. If we can't get into the Aether, it's gg. Notch wins. Keeping balance in this world is harder than I thought it would be. I guess Herobrine thought I knew how to sneak into the Aether successfully. Well, he was wrong.

Ryan walks out of his house in a batman costume. "So, how are we getting to the Aether? Or am I going to have to come up with a plan?"

"I don't think they have a plan," Cave says. "We're stuck here."

"Well, we _can_ use my amulet..." Ant says.

"Your...amulet?" I ask.

"I don't know how, but my amulet gives me the ability to teleport anywhere, including different dimensions," Ant says. "I assume the Aether is no different."

"We should get going, then," Cave says. "I'm sure Herobrine's son is in the shadows, waiting for us to teleport him to the Aether so he can do his part. I'm ready."

Am I in the shadows? Even though I'm right in front of my friends, you can say I'm in the shadows. If we insist on sticking together, it will be hard for me to do my job. Even so, I may not have the power to defeat Herobrine. I wish I can have someone to help me in battle. I want an ally who can help me defeat Herobrine. Ant, Cave, and Ryan can't help me, even if they want to. While in these thoughts, I feel the power of light surround me as Ant teleports us to the Aether.

_**And that is the chapter! And now since I thought of the idea of character deaths, I have two in mind. Unless you **_**really**_** don't want me to do them. Vote down below. If you really like the idea of people dying, you can request who you want to die below! Although some characters cannot die in order for the plot line to go where I want it to go. Also, still taking questions. And I hope this chapter is long enough for you! Well, I guess that's all I have to say. Have a nice day!**_

_**-Sprinklez**_


	6. Chapter 5

**_Sprinklez: Here's attempt two. I don't know why that chapter turned out like that, but I'm sorry. So let's get to what I have to say. You know in the first chapter how I said updates may take a long time? This is what I meant. And also, warnings for this chapter. Some of you may have noticed I changed the rating to this story. That is because of this chapter. And also, I think this chapter is horribly written, but this might actually be good. I don't know. If this attempt is successful, I'm going to delete my guest review which was actually me. But let's see how this goes. TO LE STORY!_**

The Aether is pure. Too pure for my eyes to handle. Having spent my childhood in the Nether, I'm not used to extreme light like the light in the Aether. I'm barely used to the light of the overworld, even with sunglasses. With the whiteness of the clouds plus the closeness of the sun, my poor eyes haven't adjusted yet, even with sunglasses on.

I try not to squint so much that my friends can notice, but enough so I can see. I don't understand how the three of them have already adjusted to the light. And how am I going to find time to defeat Herobrine? I did not think this through. First, the lack of transportation, now this problem. Well, at least my improvisation skills will improve. Improv will be key to complete this mission because of the lack of planning.

We walk around, all of us so awed at our surroundings that Ant is the only one who remembers to conceal ourselves with the clouds. In the letter, Herobrine told us how to do this task so angels couldn't see us. Our eyes are wide open, even though my eyes hurt like crazy. I look away from the sun, and my eyes slowly begin to adjust. It will still be a while before I won't have to squint anymore, though.

"I think we should split up to cover more ground," Ryan says randomly, being the strategist he is. "That way, we'll know the area better."

"Excellent idea, Ryan," I say. 'Thank you Ryan. You come up with the best ways to help me, even if you don't know it.' "We can meet back here at dusk."

"I like this idea," Cave says. "Let's do it."

The three of us turn to Ant, waiting for his answer. Ant is silent for a while, thinking about the pros and cons to the plan most likely, then he sighs. "Well... I guess I have to agree with you because you will pressure me if I don't. Let's go, and try not to be late upon your return."

All of us begin to walk in different directions, making sure angels can't see us by concealing ourselves with the clouds. As I walk away, I can't help but worry about Ant, Cave, and Ryan. It would be my fault if something went wrong. It's my job to stop Notch, not my friends'. What if they get caught? What if they forget about the deadline or forget where to meet? _What if they die?_

I observe the angels, trying not to think about my friends. The angels are of all ethnicities with different styles of clothing. The only two colors the angels don't wear are red and black. Their wings are white, and some have golden halos above their heads. They are so innocent, just like Aurey. Oh shoot, Aurey is going to kill me if I'm gone for a long time. She worries about me too much.

"You are not permitted here," says a familiar voice. "What is your business in this area of the Aether?"

I turn to see Chim look at me. Underneath his glasses, I can see disappointment in his expression. He holds a white sword in his hand. I try not to focus on the sword. I look into his eyes, peer into his feelings with my mind-reading powers, and realize Chim feels more than disappointed. He feels betrayed and confused. His heart is lost, and he doesn't know how he should react. But why?

"What are you doing here?" I burst, taking my sudden anger out on Chim. "You never told me you'd be in the Aether." 'And why do you have to choose the side that will destroy the world? _Why do I have to be the rebel that betrays my good friend?_'

"You should know," Chim says, baffled. "I told you guys."

"When did you tell us you'd be in the Aether?" I demand. "I don't remember this. Was I even there?"

"I told you when..." Chim starts to say. He thinks, then his eyes widen. "Oh, shoot. Never mind. Well, here's the story. Notch called me up to tighten security while important events are happening. He says he has the enemy right where he wants him. He promises Herobrine will be destroyed soon."

How soon is soon? Peering into Chim's thoughts, he's relieved that Herobrine will perish. If only he knew the consequences, he wouldn't be happy. I wouldn't be in this situation, and I could focus on scouting. Why does Notch have to be smart and tighten security? Can't he assume no player will want to stop him? But I should have planned ahead. I haven't mastered erasing memories yet, and for the first time in my life, I wish I had. Now, I can see why those skills, though evil, are used by my father. Completing this mission is more important than my pride.

"Now that we are all caught up," Chim says, interrupting my thoughts. "I kindly ask you to leave. If you leave now, you won't be punished."

I hesitate. I don't know what to do. I don't have the courage to oppose Chim, but I don't have the courage to follow him either. Then, I think of Ant, Cave, and Ryan and about saving the world. I shake my head, because I have no other choice. I have to oppose Chim. No matter what the cost.

"My mission isn't complete," I say. "I can't leave yet."

Chim hesitates, shock overcoming his face for a few seconds, then he pulls out his sword.

"If you choose not to cooperate," Chim says, his voice shaking, "I'll use force to make you cooperate. There will be consequences."

I look through my inventory, and realize I have a sword with me. Good thing, because I didn't think about it before because of the stress of defeating Notch. I pull it out and face Chim. "Let's fight, then." I sound a whole lot braver than I actually am. On the inside, I'm shaking and afraid. I'll have to knock Chim out. I don't have to kill him. But still, I have a bad feeling.

Chim swings at me. I dodge and swing back. We continue to fight. After a while of fighting back and forth, I remember my father telling me to look the enemy in the eyes to help predict their next move based on their eye movement. When I look into Chim's eyes, I wish I didn't. Tears stream from his eyes that I haven't noticed before. I look away, and tears of my own start to form.

Chim's swings become harder. I feel anger coming from Chim, but the tears are still there. Caught off guard, I am barely able to defend myself. Chim slashes me a couple of times, but I don't care. At this point, only instincts are keeping me alive. Tears stream down both mine and Chim's cheeks because why does life have to be cruel enough to put two friends on opposite sides of a war? How much do I have to sacrifice to save the world?

I have to save the world. If I don't, everything will be gone. My friends will for sure die because everything will go wrong if Notch wins. I have to do this for my father, even though I'm not supposed to call him that. I have to do this for Ant. I have to do this for Chim and Ryan. I have to do this for my mom. _I have to do this for the world._

I begin to fight back hard. Soon enough, Chim and I are evenly matched, both of us still crying because of the world's cruel nature. We both feel we have to fight, and destiny laid out this path for us. But we still hold back, because we don't want to kill each other. At least, I don't want to kill him. I know only one distraction and fast reflexes will determine the winner. I can't be distracted. I must do my duty, no matter what the cost.

Each swing becomes heavier, because of tiredness and the guilt. I'm fighting one of my friends for what I believe in. Is that what heroes do? Do they betray their friends? Pain came to me, snapping me out of my thoughts, and I can't see anything. I blindly swing forward, instinctively, with more strength than I had in this fight so far. The flat of my blade hits something, and the object is flung far away.

I realize what hurts so much. My eyes. Chim must have knocked my sunglasses off. I squint really hard until I find my sunglasses, then I put them back on. I look around for Chim, and I'm horrified to see Chim sprawled on the floor far away. I run over to him to see if he is okay. Instinctively, my feet kick the clouds up so I am hidden. As soon as I take one look at Chim, my heart breaks.

Blood. There is blood everywhere. His neck is slanted in a way that definitely isn't normal. His head is lopsided, with an expression of horror on his face. I don't blame him. The last thing he saw was who I really was. A monster. And right here, right now, is proof that I'm a monster. The tears increase as I look at the scene before me. I don't have to feel for a pulse to know what happened.

Chim is dead. And I killed him.

**_Sprinklez: I'M SORRY CHIMNEY SWIFT FANS! DON'T KILL MEH! I hope this chapter makes sense and gives you the feeling it's supposed to. If not, well... But yeah, my birthday happened recently so now I'm wiser and I'm older. So that's exciting, AND MY COMPUTER IS BEING A JERK RIGHT NOW! Okay, are you done yet computer? So anyway, I hope this works because if not, I'm going to rage. And be frustrate. And sad. And I'll be joining Celestia in hugging Herobrine._**

**_Herobrine: Please work. I don't want another lunatic on me!_**

**_Celestia: *Grins evilly*_**

**_Buttersquid: Hello!_**

**_Sprinklez: WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?_**

**_Buttersquid: I'm about to go kill blazes for strength potions. I'll be back in a while._**

**_Sprinklez: That is not a good idea..._**

**_Buttersquid: Why?_**

**_Celestia: YOU DARE TO TOUCH MY PRECIOUS BLAZES? YOU WILL DIE!_**

**_Sprinklez: Also, to that one guest review, since I planned out the entire story before you reviewed, "Aurey" can't be a main character, but she will be mentioned, and possibly appear at the very end. Bye, and this better work!_**

**_Update: Laziness has been fixed(for those of you who know what I am talking about). At least I think I got everything..._**


	7. Chapter 6

_**Hey guys. Well, I decided to upload again because I can. So here's the next chapter. I could've posted this chapter earlier, but I didn't feel motivated enough. The more support I get on this story, the more motivated I'm going to be to write and upload it. So I don't own stuff, and you know what I mean. I've said this in previous chapters, and have clarified this, so do I have to even put disclaimers anymore? Except for like, warnings? Ah well. Enjoy this chapter!**_

I stare at Chim for a long time, horrified. I close and open my eyes many times to make sure this isn't a dream. An emptiness fills my heart, much like the one that appeared when my mom died, except this time it was worse, because I killed him, not my father. If only I hadn't swung so blindly. If only I hit the head and knocked him out instead of killing him. Then I could have erased his memory, which I can only do successfully on unconscious people because I wasn't too keen on learning that skill. But no. He had to knock my sunglasses off. I had to swing forward like that.

The tears are still there, because why try to remove them? They're a part of my being now. A piece of me I'll hide from my friends for as long as I can. What else will I eventually hide? I'm currently hiding who I really am. I'm hiding my father's identity. I'm hiding my dreadful past. And now, I'm going to hide my crime. I'm going to hide Chim. I'm going to hide my regret and tears. And one day, the bomb will explode, and everyone will know everything, and then I'll be alone, because who wants to be friends with a murderer?

I now notice light is dwindling. Well, shoot. That's not good if I'm out of time. No time to mourn now. I focus, and will Chim's body to go into my enderchest, where no one can find it. Yeah, perverted, I know, but what choice do I have? Especially on such a risky mission. I can't afford to let anyone see his body because then they'll pray to Notch, and Notch would suspect something wrong is in the Aether. Also, when in history have murderers been sane enough to properly bury a body with good intentions?

My feet fly to the meet up area, for fear of being late, and I focus on my breathing as I run, making sure that I don't run at an abnormal speed that would give me away as a demigod, then I realize what I had just called myself: a demigod. A demigod. Before, I hadn't considered Herobrine a god. But now, I don't know anymore. I guess Herobrine can be considered a god. Or a former god. But Herobrine does play a role in Minecraft, so he should be considered a god. 'Focus, Jordan,' I scold myself. 'You're running too fast.

I see my friends just as the moon appears in the sky. A little later than dusk, but oh well. It'll have to do. But it sucks being the last one here. I run at the speed someone not of Herobrine's descent would sprint over to my friends. I fake breathing hard, for the sake of appearance. As soon as Ant sees me, he points me out to my other friends and they all sorta wave. You know, when you're looking for someone in a crowd, and they wave? Not that I have much experience with that, being raised in the Nether and all. I run up to them and we all sorta face each other.

"So, anything to report?" Ant asks.

"I don't have much. Just that Herobrine's tactic for concealing works," I respond. It would be a bad idea to mention Chim, I think.

"Same," Chim says. "Not much to report."

Ryan spouts information only useful to him that had little relevance to the mission. Ant and Cave aren't paying attention, but I'm listening because it's an excuse not to think about Chim. Ryan is now talking about the maximum speed he can run here compared to on the ground. He moves on to talk about air pressure changes, quickness in time, gravity, the possibility of angels possibly following us, dancing is easier in the Aether, wait, what? Angels following us?

"Angels are following us?!" Cave and Ant swerve around at my outburst, staring at Ryan for answers.

"Well, there's a ten percent chance angels that don't care have spotted us, a seventy percent chance some angels are alert to our presence including the ten percent, and a twenty percent chance an angel high in ranking knows of our presence," Ryan says. "That is, if my calculations are correct."

"Well, that's just wonderful." Ant sighs in frustration.

Ant paces back and forth in worry. I have to cover Ant with clouds as he walks, because I guess Ant is too worried to do it himself. I'm already concealed, so I don't have to cover myself at the same time, which is a relief. Ryan experiments with the clouds while Cave sleeps. I focus on covering Ant until he realizes he needs to cover himself. When he does, I slip into my own thoughts, which I shouldn't do. But what else is there to do?

Chim's death plays in my mind over and over again. I recall Chim's expression on his dead body. The look of shock must have been the expression he had when he saw my face or when my sword flew at him blindly. My memory of his crumpled body is too much for me to bare. I cover myself with clouds so even my friends can't see me, then the tears silently leak out. Aren't I trying to save the world? But why, if I'm the hero, am I killing an innocent person for no reason? I'm sure my father will be proud of me for killing someone, but that makes me feel worse. Am I really as evil as Herobrine, the one I've hated all my life?

My thoughts shift to Aurey. Of course, I never call her that out loud, but that's what my mind thinks of her as. Yeah, she's funny and attractive, but she's mortal. I'll outlive her. No matter what my feelings say, I can never have a serious relationship with someone. My heart will break when she dies if I allow myself to be with her. She also has never asked me out or dropped any hints that I have noticed, so I don't know if she loves me or not. So I keep my distance, for my own sake.

Suddenly, a herd of angels fly in on us, breaking my thoughts. Well, I think it's called a herd. I don't know the actual terminology, but whatever. They glare at us, but it doesn't seem real, as if the angels are going against what they think is right. But they must follow their leader, or else... What is the fate of an angel who rebels against Notch? Whatever it is, these angels obviously don't want that fate. But work is work, and it must be done. And that applies to everyone, including myself.

The leader of the pack approaches us. I think it is the leader, because he is the only one with a halo. "I'm afraid you will have to come with us. We are going to Notch. He will decide your fate."

(Time lapse)

The four of us face Notch as he looks at us. It's the first time I've ever known what Notch looks like. I haven't seen a picture or anything of the sort. I haven't even heard a description. I've only heard the name. Apparently, Notch was a bald dude with a black beard. That totally is a description of a protagonist. Well, to me, he's the antagonist, so the description fits. But anyway, Notch is staring blankly at us, like he's not sure what to do with us. Although if he knows what I did to Chim, he knows what he's going to do to me.

The march to Notch's palace seemed like a daze. I willingly walked over because I wanted to explore the palace and pinpoint its location. I paid attention to the surroundings as we walked, so I could retrace my footsteps. We finally entered a palace while an angel fetched Notch. Now, we are surrounded by angels and being confronted by a god. Escape will be hard, and there will be a battle(according to Ryan, it's a 99% chance). But I don't know if we will win or lose. Not even Ryan knows the chances. The odds against a god aren't great, especially in his own realm. Not to mention all the angels.

"What were the four of you doing in restricted parts of the Aether," Notch asks. "If I'm not satisfied with your answer, this will not be pretty."

_**Sprinklez: So yeah, that's the end of that chapter.**_

_**Buttersquid: OW! Well, I'm off to play LOL! Because LOL is the best game ever, my older brother and I hog the computer so our sister can't access it and upload chapters.**_

_**Sprinklez: I write all my chapters now on my kindle, so there might be stuff like (insert italics here) that I was too lazy to remove or I was rushed to upload so I didn't remove that. You saw that in the previous chapter, and I'm too lazy to go back and change that. But yeah, Buttersquid here is my evil twin. And he got burned last chapter. So remember, in order to make strength potions without Celestia getting mad at you, make weakness pots then put in that one ingredient to make strength. So, bye, and I hope the thing that happened last chapter doesn't happen in this one! And then it happens again. *Sighs***_


	8. Chapter 7

_**Well, finally uploading my main story, which I need to finish sometime. Heh. The more support I get, the more I'm going to focus on writing the story, but uploading is an issue. I write all my stories on my Kindle, but I have to upload using the computer, and it's difficult to get on the computer for homework, much less something non-school related because my brothers are "in the middle of a LOL game and you have to wait until the game is over". But after this story, I'm only doing one shots. This is a cliff hanger chapter, so yeah, warning.**_

The four of us right now are staring at Notch blankly, which is probably annoying him. What are we supposed to say? We can't exactly say the truth, because if we do, Notch will kill us for helping the enemy. And people view him as the good guy. We can't leave, because otherwise the mission will be doomed. High security increase would not be good at all. But how can we delay? Or better, get out of this mess? We're surrounded, Ryan isn't pitching in with a brilliant plan, I can feel Ant's terror, and I need to focus on a plan, not focus on negativity. Because clearly, no one else has an idea, because no one is pitching in. At least I have a chance to do something helpful for a change.

As I rack my brain for ideas, I faintly remember Herobrine telling me a peculiar fact. Angels are afraid of amnesia. Like, beyond deadly afraid. They believe that there is a chance to get amnesia if you go to a place too "holy" for some odd reason. Notch has done his best to rid the angels of this fear, but the angels still fear memory loss. Plus, "getting older", as the angels call it, even though they can't age, causes you to lose your memory, even though angels technically don't age like humans do. I can use this fear against them as a distraction, if I don't mess up. Plus, it helps that I hit my head when entering Notch's castle on accident. And this is the only plan I've got. The only plan our team has right now. It's not the best plan, but it's a plan.

"Everything's fuzzy..." I start to say. "Uh, what is this place? Why am I here? What was I doing? Who am I?"

This gets everyone's attention, including my friends'. I can even hear distant flapping of wings in the far distance. Angels who want to listen but not be too close. I know I need to convince my friends as well as the enemy that I have amnesia if this plan is to buy us valuable time for Ryan to think of something better. Ant and Cave look worried, but Ryan winks at me. Has he heard about this fact as well? If he has, the angels do believe memory loss is contagious in the Aether for some odd reason, probably because of its holiness or something else I don't understand. If Ryan plays this opportunity correctly...

"Huh?" Ryan says. "What, no, my name is... what is it again? I'm from, um, it's all... slipping away... from my grasp. What's going on?"

Ant and Cave look beyond horrified, and I don't blame them. Their horror, though, reminds me of Chim, and I feel really bad, but this deceit is necessary for planning better ideas. I can't afford to rely on their acting skills. They look at us confused as to why memory loss is happening to us. Meanwhile, the angels cower, like I want them to. They back up slowly, lowering their weapons in fear, even though they aren't in danger. Only one angel has the courage to speak, and she does so trembling with a shaky voice. "The Amnesia Curse of the Aether..."

Notch's face is full of rage, but not me or my friends, which means the plan is working, which is good. He glares at the angels, his faithful servants. Only I notice Notch's hands are clenched in a fist. We'll be in huge trouble when Notch realizes this is a ploy to scare the angels, if he realizes it's a ploy, that is. Both Ryan and I know Ant and Cave must be obvious to the situation until we are well away from Notch's ear. If Notch hears of this and our real intentions are revealed, things will do downhill...

"YOU IDIOTS! " Notch bellows. "THERE IS NO CURSE! THAT'S JUST A COINCIDENCE!"

The majority of the angels start to run away at his sudden outburst, and I don't blame them. At this point, Notch is shaking in fear, but it's hardly noticeable to me, and I've been trained by my father to read emotions clearly, the one thing I am good at even though I hate it. Never had I ever thought anything he taught me would come in handy. Ever. That scares me a little. No, it scares me tremendously. I'm becoming more like my father. Step by step.

Notch has no choice but to turn his attention back on us and not on the fleeing angels. Only a few angels dare within 100 feet of us. He stares at all four of us, and Ryan and I both keep up the amnesia act. He glares at us in rage, and I know this isn't going to be pretty. Cave and Ant look worried, but Ryan and I can't afford to look worried. We have to act confused.

"You're trying to escape your fate," Notch says, a slight tremble in his voice. "You may have unintentionally scared away my guardians, but you will not avoid trial. For those of you who have a memory, explain why you are here."

I keep up my act and note Notch's use of unintentionally. The ploy is working. "Where is here? I don't remember."

Notch waves his hand over our group, and sparkles wash over Ryan and I. I remember events that I had forgotten about, like all the tips Herobrine gave me that I had previously pushed out of my mind. I loosen the confusion look and act normally now, and wonder why Notch didn't do that earlier. I don't think Notch knows how much he has helped me. I'm going to need those skills if I'm going to survive in situations like these. Is a crime forgiven if you do it to survive, and because there is no other way? Is it really that bad to follow Herobrine's teachings, especially when you're battling against Notch?

"So, now that problem is fixed," Notch says. "But I wonder, does this stuff work on angels, or just mortals? Maybe that will solve their problem. But no matter. What is your business here?"

At least I decreased the amount of angels surrounding us. And Ryan had helped decrease that number. Now we stand a better chance, but now what? Throw pies in Notch's face and call him a loser? The only problem with that is we have no pies. Oh, and calling Notch a loser probably wouldn't be the best thing to do. Should I say that "my friends" brought me up here for the murder of Chimney Swift? That could actually work. Notch would test me, the test would be positive, and I could finish the job alone. My friends would be shocked though, and the entire thing would be ruined. But hopefully Ryan would have enough sense to play the scene. Maybe he can pull a psyche.

Before I could use that idea, an angel came up to Notch, avoiding our group completely. The angel whispered something in Notch's ear and flew away before Notch could become angry, which he did.

"I think I know your intent now," Notch says coldly. "I don't believe it's a coincidence that one of my followers is dead the same day you arrive."

They know. They don't know who did it, but they know what happened. I don't even have to fake my shock that they'd know so soon without a body. All four of us are frozen, which makes us seem guilty. Them with me. I have a feeling Ryan was right. Bloodshed is inevitable if we want to succeed in our mission. 99% is a very high probability. Why did I think this situation could be talked out of? I guess we had to try, didn't we?

"You hope to thwart my plans?" Notch continues. "And you'd go so far as to kill an innocent soul for a cause that's not worthy? Would you dare? Well that means battle. And I will not rest until all four of you are dead and justice is served."

Notch snaps his fingers, and the remaining angels take out their weapons. Notch himself takes out a golden sword. Notch only says one more word before the battle we've been waiting for begins.

"Charge."

_**Random comment to writers: Isn't it amazing how your stories sometimes tell you what to write? I don't know how the whole amnesia thing slipped its way into this story, but it did and I kinda like it. That's it, I guess. Well, see y'all next time I get the chance to upload and I have a chapter written.**_

_**-Sprinklez**_


	9. Chapter 8

_**Hi. Welcome to another chapter of probably the only multi-chapter story I will ever write on this website. Updates are really slow, but I warned you in the first chapter(not the prologue. That used to be a completely different story). So I'm hoping to finish this as soon as possible. I started this last summer. It's taken me over six months to write eight chapters, which is insane. The whole reason this exists is because one person wanted more of Dark Secrets(the prequel when it was its own oneshot). Celestia really motivated me to continue this story, so I want to thank her for that. Feedback is always welcome. Guest reviews are always welcome here, so just because you aren't logged on to a Fanfiction account for some reason doesn't mean you are forbidden from reviewing. So yeah, enjoy this chapter because the next chapter is going to take a while to come out.**_

The angels brave enough to go near me swarm me, and I barely fight them off. Ryan and Cave join in and help me with the angels. There are so many angels and so few of us. I'm so focused, I don't realize Ant isn't among us until a while later. I frantically look around, and see Ant fighting Notch by himself. Typical Ant, the PVP master. Of course he takes on the big challenge. I know Ant is devoted to the cause of saving the world because a month ago, if I had told Ant he'd be fighting Notch himself in the Aether, he'd tell me I'm insane.

I don't grow tired quickly, but Chim and Ryan aren't doing too well. Their swings become slower and their breathing heavier as times goes on. What's worse is the number of angels fighting us keeps increasing. I don't know how long my friends are going to last. At least Ant keeps up his stamina. Ant has been good at that pretty much all of his life. I've learned so much from him. I know he'll be fine.

I feel power flowing through my veins, waiting to be turned into magic. But tapping into my powers tells Notch not only that we are associated with Herobrine, but I'm either someone Herobrine lent his powers or his son, the second one being more likely. Instead I turn that power into energy and give it to my friends so they'll be more successful. If it wasn't for me, both Ryan and Cave would probably be dead. As soon as either one of them collapses, they are dead.

I slice through angels, trying not to feel regret as I did. I try not to look in their faces. There is one with red hair and green eyes I think looks strangely familiar, but I shrug the feeling off. I can't feel guilty in life verses death situations. My friends are counting on me to survive.

I remember Herobrine's tips for successful fighting. Most of the tips I remember are because Notch restored my memory. I naturally sidestep and parry the attacks. I also manage to take some swings of my own and defend myself at the same time. I make sure I don't end up in a frenzy that would make it obvious that I am Herobrine's son, but I make sure I'm not in danger as well.

I fight for a tiny bit longer when I hear Ant scream. Started, I momentarily stop fighting and look his direction. Ant is on the floor, blood oozing from his face. He's plastered in sweat and blood stains are everywhere. He gestures to everyone implying that he's fine. I breathe a sigh of relief for just a moment.

I hear the swishing of a sword right behind me, but I block it just in time. In my peripheral vision, I see that Cave and Ryan aren't so lucky. An angel smacks Ryan in the head with the flat of his blade. Ryan topples to the ground unconscious. Meanwhile, a sword purges through Cave's chest. He collapses on the ground, dead. A scream is stuck in my throat. Angels are protectors, not killers. How can an angel kill one of my friends without a second thought? Is it because he wants to prove his worth to Notch? Does he believe it's the right thing to do. Tears threaten to fall, but I focus on the task at hand, anger flowing through my veins.

I focus on revenge. These "perfect" angels killed my friend. I focus on fighting until every single angel is unconscious or dead. My sword shows no mercy to anyone. I pant, fatigue overcoming me as the adrenaline starts to fade. I then realize that Ant is still fighting Notch.

I pull out my bow, load an arrow, and fire. The arrow hits Notch's arm, causing him to howl in pain. He glares at me, furious. Then his expression turns to shock as he realizes what happened to his angels. His hands once again clench into a fist, but this time with no fear involved but instead an intent for revenge. An aura surrounds him, giving me an uneasy feeling. He is going to use magic to fight. We have to run. Magic will kill us, unless I fight back with magic, but then my cover will be blown, and I can't afford that. Not right now.

I grab Ant's hand and go into a full out sprint, grabbing Chim's and Ryan's bodies on the way. At first, Ant doesn't see the urgency of my actions, but after seeing Notch glowing, he realizes what is happening and starts running as well. Both of us know we can't handle Notch's wrath while keeping Ryan alive at the same time. The ground starts to shake under us as we keep on running. We both stumble a couple of times, but we help each other up.

"Come back here!" Notch bellows. "You might as well. You can run, but you can't hide. I'll be searching for you. You can't win. Whatever you're up to, you will fail, and I will see to that personally."

Both Ant and I know that isn't an option. We continue running, despite our fatigue. We keep running, despite the ground shaking. We keep running, despite the heaviness of Cave's and Ryan's bodies. We keep running, despite the lack of hope. We keep running, despite the scent of blood in the air. We keep running, despite everything we had been through. We keep running.

After running for what seems like forever, the ground stops shaking. But still we run, because we know we are being followed by whatever angels I did not kill already. Only when it has been a while since we've seen Notch's castle do we stop and conceal ourselves in the clouds, which we should have done when we were running, but we didn't. Both Ant and I collapse to the ground, exhausted. But we know we can't rest yet. We look at Cave's and Ryan's bodies.

"I know Cave is gone," I say. "But do you think Ryan made it? It's possible he didn't because of all the shaking, but still..."

Ant scoots towards Ryan's body and searches for a pulse. First he checks his wrist, then his neck, then his heart, and then his neck again. He puts his hand on Ryan's chest for a while and waits. After about a minute, Ant shakes his head.

"There's no pulse and he isn't breathing. I wouldn't count on Ryan being alive."

We both sit there in silence for a while. I didn't want Cave or Ryan to die, and I don't think Ant wanted them to die either. But we have to continue. The world is still unbalanced. Even if someone dies, the world is still going to spin. The birds will still chirp their happy song. Death is common. But it shouldn't happen like this. Cave shouldn't have died this early. Ryan shouldn't have died this early. Chim shouldn't have died this early.

"It's all my fault," I say.

Ant looks up ,surprised. "It isn't your fault. Why would you think that? If Notch wasn't being power hungry, none of this would have happened."

"But still," I say, taking a deep breath. "While we split up in the Aether, if I hadn't accidentally killed Chim, then Cave and Ryan wouldn't be dead right now."

_**And that's the end of this chapter. Hope you guys all enjoyed this! If not, then I'm sorry, but yeah, character death! RIP CavemanFilms and xRpMx13! And all of those angels... I wonder if one of them was someone Jordan knows...**_

_**-Sprinklez**_


	10. Chapter 9

_**Okay. I just want to clarify that this story is not on hiatus, but it just took me a really long time to write this. This is probably because of some writer's block, laziness, doing other things, and that stuff. I'm hoping that this will be the second-to-last chapter not including the epilogue. This story is never going on hiatus unless it says so in the description of the story, which I'm not planning on making it that way. This is a story that really needs to get done. IT'S BEEN OVER A YEAR! I'm, also noticing some plot holes that are kind of important but don't impact the outcome of the story. Yes, my characters have been eating food and drinking water/whatever these characters drink. Anyways, now to the chapter. **_

We both sit in silence for a while, staring at each other. Then Ant looks away, sighing. I look down and the tears begin to fall again. We sit there until Ant breaks the silence.

"You had a reason, didn't you?"

"I either had to fight him or face being teleported back. I didn't have a choice. I was originally going to knock him out, not kill him, but things didn't turn out that way."

Silence again. I know Ant is thinking many scenarios out in his head of what could have happened, but he won't think up the right one. Chim's death has a back story about its occurrence, and Ant doesn't know some of the most vital parts of the story. Parts that Ant needs to know before we face Notch again.

"This may be our last night Jordan," Ant says. "I want to know what happened. Why do you think staying up here is worth more than a life? Fighting Notch, risking everything. If I'm not wrong, you were the one talking about how hard this mission would be. Why are you motivated, Jordan? Why are you all of the sudden telling me that this mission is now more important than Chim's life, and you need to be here? From what I experienced so far, you're the one who was hesitant to go."

"It's a really long story," I say. "How long are you willing to listen?"

"It was that long of a battle?" Ant gives me a skeptical stare.

"No, but if you want all of your questions answered, then I need to start at the very beginning."

Ant bites his lip, then responds. "Okay. I'll listen and try not to judge. Start from the beginning."

So I tell Ant my story. All of it. How before my birth, Herobrine met my mom, and then they fell in love. I was born and given the name Captain Sparklez. The Nether mobs raised me to follow my father, which I loathed. I then told him about the night I ran away and my mother died. I built my house with Jerry at my side and then I ran into Ant. He introduced me to his friends and we bonded.

I then tell my side of the story about my first encounter with Herobrine since I ran away and why I jumped to the conclusion that Herobrine wasn't lying so quickly. I skip the recruitment part of the story because Ant knows about that part. I then tell him about my second encounter with Herobrine and delivering the letter.

"That seriously was you?" Ant exclaims. I give Ant a blank expression. "Sorry, continue."

I proceed to tell Ant about my doubts about the entire trip as we prepared to enter the Aether. How relieved I was when Ant suggested using his amulet. I also told him how I was amazed that it worked so well. I find the amulet unsettling for some reason, and now that I think about it, I always have since the day I met Ant(but I don't tell Ant about my feelings about the amulet). Overtime, I got used to the sick feeling, but it never went away.

"Where did you get the amulet?" I ask him.

"I've had it since birth," he says to me. "I don't know anything about its origins."

I then work up to the fight with Chim. How he caught me off guard and how he had actually been in the Aether to tighten security. When I told him why security was tightened, Ant gritted his teeth but let me continue. I then talked about the fight itself, but not in great detail. But I did describe how Chim knocked off my glasses and me swinging blindly to get the kill.

"I wasn't looking where I was swinging," I say. "The sun blinded me when my sunglasses were off. I grew up in the Nether, so I'm barely adjusted to the light in the Overworld, much less the Aether. I hit him with the flat of my blade, so I must have swung hard enough to deliver a fatal blow."

I tell him about the body. The regret and despair. I tell him about the emotional roller coaster of emotions that went through my mind. All of that doubt and fear in me that has built up for the last five years. Every secret, every bad memory, everything I had done to try to fit in with this world. Even though I have friends, I'm deep in isolation because no one would understand. My emotions swell through me and I start sobbing into Ant's shoulder.

Ant sits there awkwardly and then tries his best to assure me that everything will be all right. He knows about me, but he isn't shoving me away, perhaps because I need someone right now. We both relish in silence for a long time, thinking. I don't know what Ant is thinking. I lied to him about everything. I'm so scared of the truth, but the truth is what I need right now. It's what Ant deserved, so I gave it to him. I keep on sitting there, waiting, until Ant finally speaks up.

"I can get revenge for you lying to me later," he says. "But for now, we need a plan. Hopefully one that doesn't involve you losing your memory."

"I don't know what you're talking about," I respond. "I never lost my memory." Ant sits there shocked for a while, most likely concerned about my memory, so I continue talking. "But in all seriousness, the losing memory thing was a plan to scare the angels away from us and buy some time. I got the idea and Ryan tagged along with it. Angels are afraid of amnesia to the point where it drives Notch insane. A little something I learned from my dad."

"Any other tips from you dad that will be useful to us that you can remember?" Ant asks.

"Actually," I say. "Notch's memory powder sprung up a lot of memories I forgot about. For one, Notch's main weakness is his pride. He has an image of a perfect world constantly in his head that he shares with his people. Most people enjoy this type of world, and because Notch is used to this, he expects things to go his way. Obstacles are always squashed like a little bug, and now he wants that one annoying pesky bug, aka Herobrine, to finally vanish.

"Also, Notch's castle is guarded 24/7 by angels with guards changing every hour on the clock. It's the same in Herobrine's castle, except obviously not with angels. My father was afraid of the balance tipping, so everything about Notch and Herobrine are basically mirrored. Devils and angels, the Aether and the Nether, ect. Each with one ruler."

Ant sits there for a while pondering. "The imbalance was caused recently, but there's still something I don't get."

"What is that?" I ask.

"You're the son of Herobrine," Ant says. "But yet Notch has made no claim of having offspring. Shouldn't children affect the balance? And if so, where is this child?"

Why have I not thought of this before? Another child of the gods? I've always been unique, so knowing that there's a big possibility of another demigod is both disappointing and exciting. But then again, I has been so wrapped up in worrying about the mission that the possibility of another demigod didn't even come to mind.

"I guess we can sleep on it," I say. "We should rest for tomorrow."

"I guess," Ant says. He covers us with clouds deeper than we already were. "I guess we'll have to hope the cloud works. See you tomorrow."

"Good night." I lay down and instantly fall into a dreamless sleep asleep.

(Time lapse)

I wake up when the sun does, which is a good thing because the clouds do not offer enough protection to hide us from the angels in broad daylight. Probably because of how often clouds move or Ant couldn't judge how much cover we actually needed while in broad daylight when it was dark. I move the clouds to protect us more before a scouting group finds us. Being found is the last thing we need right now.

Ant is still sleeping, so my thoughts are my only company. Every once in a while, an angel passes us, but no angels spot us. I guess I'll have to wait and see what we do next. Ryan isn't here to form an amazing plan for us, so we'll have to rely on what my father taught me and Ant's knowledge as well. Hopefully we can actually pull this off. Fighting against a god will be tough. The final battle will be the battle that I reveal my powers, so hopefully this upcoming battle will be the final one. We had such a good plan, but it somehow went wrong. We entered with an unnoticeable amount of people, so how were we...

Wait. How were we discovered? We had a party of four, and Herobrine said three people plus me wouldn't be discovered in transportation to the Aether. But Notch knew someone who wasn't supposed to enter the Aether entered. How? I know Herobrine didn't intentionally give us wrong information, but there's something up. Notch should've thought an angel was entering the Aether, even with high security.

I ponder everything that happened recently when Ant wakes up. He looks at me for a while and holds my hand. We look up to the sky, noticing its beauty for the first time. A pure light blue illuminates the sky with some white and dark grey clouds swirls in the mix, with some shades of grey in between. Both the white and grey add its own beauty to the picture. The sun shines the brightest light. It is brilliant and beautiful but it hurts my eyes.

It takes a while before Ant speaks. "Well, what do we do now?"

"I don't know," I say. "We should start with trying to answer some questions. Then once we know more, we might be more well equipped to fight Notch."

Ant sighs. "Perhaps. Any theories about a child of Notch?"

"None," I reply. "All I thought of is another question."

"What is it?" Ant asks. "It might help us answer more questions."

"You know how I was supposed to travel to the Aether with three to four other people to enter the Aether undetected." Ant nods. "I brought three people, but Notch knew we were here. I know security was tightened and all, but we weren't supposed to be noticeable. Why were we?"

Silence again. I can tell Ant is in deep thought. Any theory that either proves Herobrine's deceit or his lack of knowledge is what we need. I can think of an explanation for either. Everything is mirrored, right? Same guards, same eating times, both have full command of their people, both worlds are mirrors. But all of Herobrine's followers knew about me. Notch never announced a child heir. There's only Jeb, who probably isn't Notch's child at all, but he is too old to have been my double. It's definitely someone else. But if a baby was never announced...

"We have to fight the final battle soon," Ant says. "Brainstorming is getting us nowhere."

"How about today we prepare?" I say. "Tonight, we confront Notch."

Ant sighs, looking in the distance. "Well," he says. "Waiting isn't going to do us any good. Might as well confront Notch tonight."

I sit down and cover myself with clouds. My mind wanders to home. Where is my home? Certainly it's not in the Nether, is it? But will I be able to go back to my old life after this mission? Would I be able to handle the guilt? Also, the thought of seeing everything after this battle, assuming I make it out alive. Chim, Ryan, Cave. They all had family and friends. And now their families and friends will mourn because of me.

Tears fall down again. Ant may never forgive me for not telling him the truth. Notch will forever be angry with me. Funny thing is I'm not too upset with Notch hating me but the idea of Ant hating me is crushing. Even though I really do deserve it. Fear is a funny thing. Fear is considered one emotion, but there are different kinds of fear. Fears that result in experience, random fears, fearing what you can't see, and so much more. And fear varies from person to person. Each person is unique and therefore has different fears.

The day goes by and not much is accomplished. Ant and I try to mentally and physically prepare ourselves but that doesn't really work. We brainstorm plans all morning and eventually give up around noon. We rack our brains for theories about the missing child of Notch but find none. Eventually, the sun goes down and Ant and I go to sleep. My mind throws thoughts around as I sleep, but I don't quite dream.

Ant and I wake up with the sun due to our anxiety. We prepare our weapons, making sure we don't forget anything. I look at the sky and realize my eyes don't quite hurt anymore with the light. I guess the Aether isn't as bright as I thought it was. I'm not shaking at the thought of fighting Notch like I thought I would be. In actuality, I feel calm. I guess I've always been destined to fight Notch. Ant on the other hand is nervous. But it won't help to worry about that. I hold Ant's hand to reassure him and we walk together to what we hope is the final battle.

_**Can I just say one of my greatest pet peeves with fan fiction? It's when people are catching other people on what's going on and they literally reiterate everything that happened in the story. I'm not talking about the way I did above, but when the entire events that occurred in the story are in one big fat paragraph surrounded like quotation marks so there's no imagination to how exactly the story was told and the story's summary is there and you didn't really have to summarize the whole story with all the details included when the audience already read like eight chapters of what that paragraph was about. I like the way I expressed Jordan telling Ant his story because I go into the parts of the story that Jordan tells Ant, but I don't go into detail about it and I let the audience know that there are some parts of the story that Jordan didn't tell Ant, and I tell the audience what those parts are. I also gave some of Ant's reactions to the story, which adds a bit of depth into the story in my opinion. Okay, nerd out! **_

_**-Sprinklez**_


	11. AN: End of Story

_**Okay, so I'm not going to write out this last chapter, so I'm going to tell you guys what happens instead of just leaving this.**_

_**Basically, Ant and Jordan go to Notch, Jordan reveals himself as a son of Herobrine, during fighting, they find out Ant is actually the son of Notch, and they defeat Herobrine. I was even planning an epilogue where it is revealed that in the battle with all of the angels, Jordan ends up killing Aurey. That's a summary of it all, Minecraft is saved, blah blah blah.**_

_**The main reason I didn't write out this chapter is I started this so long ago, and my writing has improved a lot since then. So, yeah, that's about it.**_

_**Goodbye, **_

_**-Sprinklez**_


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